Day 30: Whole30 Completed!

Meal 1: Beanitos Bean Chips with mango salsa and chicken. Avocado, too!
Meal 2: Hamburger...
Meal 3: Chicken, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti squash.

I really need to make a menu. Too many veggies, can't eat them all before they go bad. If only I had a menu to eat broccoli this day, celery that day, squash this day, broccoli again this day...

Blah, blah.

Anyway, I'm totally done with this diet and now I get to slowly add in more Good Foods! I'm totally excited! I won't be adding in sugar at all (if I can help it)! I know almond flour isn't good for me right now, so I will have to get creative with my coconut flour in making bread-like foods. Maybe I will try coconut tortillas. It sounds really egg whitey, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe I will just order them online. >.<

{insert picture of me smiling, being all skinny, and feeling great}

Life is good, thanks for your support through this! Slowly I will turn my family into healthy eaters. Jimmy may never know the good of this, but at least my boys can start now. Well, after all that junk food disappears. Jimmy's shopping list had a bit too many sweets on it. :|

I'll still be updating! Not sure I will do it daily... but I will at least post the good recipes!

You're all awesome! Have a great weekend! I'll be home from Church tomorrow with sick kids. Joey has a fever and we are all probably carriers of something. Jimmy was sick on Friday and both boys threw up (in the car, of course) one after another on Thursday. Gotta love cleaning up someone else's puke!

Day 29: Best Meal Ever!

Wow, one full day left of Whole30. And then what will I do with myself!? Probably eat the same ol' paleo stuff. :) I like love eating healthy... pretty challenging and fun and... healthy! I never worried about reading labels, but this diet has helped me to see all the weird things they put in food.

Meal 1: Sausage, spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce
Meal 2: Chicken (a bite or two; gave the rest to Jimmy), then cooked myself a hamburger with riced cauli.
Meal 3: Grilled chicken with mango salsa. And Beanitos bean chips... which I probably shouldn't have had, but hey, we'll know what made me sick tomorrow. ;)

Just been snacking throughout the day... and, I know, my veggies have been lacking... I noticed that. There could be worse things. >.<

Finally went to Giant and bought more groceries. I brought Jae with me not realizing the time. Brought him during dinner time and he was starving and sleepy LOL! He was laying his head on the handle to the cart, so bored and so tired and so hungry. Poor! Joey wasn't fed when I got home, so Jimmy cooked a pizza for the boys and himself. Jimmy must have been having withdrawals and put a bunch of JUNK food on the list. I was bummed it actually all fit in the freezer(s) lol. Oh, well. He will never eat the way I do, but at least my kids can eat like me someday! :) Still working on Joey!

{mango salsa}

I have been wanting mango salsa for the past 24 hours. I'm glad I was able to go to the store today and buy a mango. Oh, my... this was DIVINE! I ate and ate and overate! SO good!
{recipe here}
I didn't add avocado because we didn't have any ripe ones. I did not add jalapeño. I did not add red onion, just used a yellow onion.

BTW, if you saw on the interwebz about eating raw onion leftover in the fridge is bad to eat... it's not. "Don't believe everything you read on the internet." --Abraham Lincoln

These are the Beanitos chips that Bonnie told me about. I once was at the health foods store and asked her if she needed anything. She wanted a bag of these black bean chips, but there weren't any on the shelf! Anyway, they are made of: Whole Black Beans, Whole Grain Rice (Brown and/or Long Grain White), Pure Sunflower Oil, Guar Bean Gum, Sea Salt. I don't think the Guar Bean Gum is Whole30 approved and I know the Rice isn't either. Oops. But, Jimmy even liked them! YES!

They also have Pinto Bean Beanitos. The Chipotle BBQ kind has sugar in it, but I probably wouldn't have bought those ones anyway. ;)

Good meal. I'm so satisfied! Nom nom nom!

Day 28: Boring

While I was taking a shower, the boys pushed a chair to the freezer, got the bag of chocolate chips (only 1/4 bag left), and ate the rest of them. Joey was caught with a brown goatee:

Meal 1: I don't remember! Hamburger maybe?
Meal 2: Hamburger with riced cauliflower. I got the recipe from Amber!
Meal 3: I don't remember, hamburger or chicken?

It did all consist of either hamburger or chicken, riced cauliflower or spaghetti squash, spaghetti sauce or salad.

The end.

{Recipe here}

Doesn't it look yummy!? It tasted yummy! I cooked mine in coconut oil and left out the spice.

Yes, I took that picture... I did a fantastic job! :)

Day 27: Only Three More Days

I can't wait until Saturday to see if I can add in brown rice. Almost done with Whole30; that is so awesome!

Meal 1: Spaghetti squash, spaghetti sauce, avocado, chicken(?)
Meal 2: Hamburger, tomato, avocado??
Meal 3: Hamburger, salad, Roma tomato, avocado

I don't remember what I ate.

Day 26: Spaghetti Sauce

Meal 1: 1 1/2 pieces of sausage, banana, and sauteed carrots in coconut oil. Man, those are my favorite! Nom nom nom.

Meal 2: Grilled chicken, avocado??, banana? I don't ever remember all my meals. >.< Oh, I had some pizza. That's cheating! I know it was against what my body wanted, but...... I just wanted to see what it'd do. LOL! I'm fine.. :)

Meal 3: Spaghetti squash, spaghetti sauce, grilled chicken breast and 2 slices of avocado. I made the spaghetti sauce! I'm so rad! 

Real Good Food FTW:

I made spaghetti sauce minus the meat because I want to be able to eat it with grilled chicken or with hamburger. I guess I could put pork sausage in there, but I'm not a fan of sausage in red sauce. 

{show and tell}

I guess this notice shouldn't apply to me since they don't even know how to spell my name:

Joey Bean is feeling a little sick. A little feverish and he slept a long time today. 2 naps which were both at least 2 hours long. I just thought this was so, so cute the way he was sleeping!

 Messy Face Joe:

Day 25: Whole30 Crash

I'm not sure what's up with today, but I CRASHED my diet during Meal 3. I don't know if I need more sleep, if it's PMS (Jimmy says I have that all the time LOL lucky guy), the kids, the cold-snowy-not-spring-like weather or what. But, I seriously wanted to eat a bunch of non-compliant Whole30 foods today. And, for Meal 3 I did just that and I am beyond bloated. Ha ha! (At least that's the worst feeling??)

Meal 1: I think I had my last hamburger I had cooked earlier this week. With tomatoes and avocados. And I had half a banana.
Meal 2: 1 1/2 pieces of pork sausage. Pumpkin pancakes. I had to find a new recipe. I'm still trying to find one that I like. It's probably hard to find one that tastes good that doesn't have sugar in it. I'm still trying to get used to this coconut flour. Almond flour makes me bloated (as well as almonds and pistachios and any other nuts). 
Meal 3: Rice with Chicken Crusted Parmesan something. Ha ha, I don't remember, but I used my paleo mayo, shredded parm cheese (NOT Whole30 compliant), and PANKO (NOT Whole30 compliant) sprinkled on it and baked. It was delicious! The only thing good for me out of that whole meal was the chicken. I totally didn't care by this point, so I just ate it. I sprinkled my chicken with coconut flour, so the parm cheese wasn't good for me, but there really wasn't very much in it altogether. Well, Joey was freaking out because he wanted MY chicken. Wow, really? So, I ate his (his was better anyway) and he had mine. I don't usually give in like that, but it was better I do that than something else. I was seriously at the end of my rope at that point. And it's a dang good thing Jimmy got home from work early today. (Just half an hour early. His hour commute turned into an hour and a half because of car accidents and road closures from the snow.) And, yeah, I said I was done with rice, but I can't give that up right now. I know it's not the best thing for me (as my stomach is bloated) but today, it was worth it.

I was just SO annoyed with this diet today. I felt restricted and didn't want to do it anymore, but I only have 5 days left. Can't quit now! But, I sure can take a knife to one of the days. Ha ha! I am tired of vegetables ALL the time; so much work to prep. I will prep them this week with some help, though. Then maybe I can just grab some carrot sticks and squash or whatever whenever I need them.

To top everything off, Jae peed his underwear and we got a complaint that our children are too noisy. I'm so annoyed. Said there was loud noises and banging on the walls. I really don't think my kids bang on the walls. Jimmy says they do, so maybe they bang on the walls when I'm gone? It was reported yesterday, so I'll have to see what time so I can have them settle down more???  I'm so bugged by this! "Sorry, kids, you have to be excited and happy in a whisper or we'll have no place to live." /eye roll

Anyway, that is all. Today was stupid and tomorrow will be a better day! (Well, unless of course it really is worse, but let's be optimistic here, shall we?)

Day 24: Hamburgers...nom nom nom

I had the same 3 meals all day today: Hamburgers, salad, tomatoes,  carrots, and fruit: blueberries, banana, & pear.

I love hamburgers.

We were a tad bit late for Church this morning. Couldn't quite get out of bed in time. Exhausted as I write this!

I have leftover chicken and curry soup that I still need to eat. I guess I could have switched it up a bit. Maybe tomorrow when I'm not so rushed. >.< (In a rush for Church, in a rush for nap after Church, in a rush helping make dinner.)

Church was great and dinner was fun with friends. Jimmy made a "St. Patrick's Day" meal with corned beef. Darn, I couldn't partake. Ha ha! I did try some... tasted like SPAM from a can. Soooo, I was pretty content with my burger. :)

I am beyond tired, so goodnight!

Day 23: Still Going Strong

I feel so repetitious... things are going swimmingly! I still have a nap every day, but that's a HUGE change from just a week ago or so. (Ha, whenever it was.) My friend pointed out to me that my life is one big nap. I got to thinking about it and, well, yeah... if I had known there was a way to help myself, I wouldn't have to sleep so much! But, I got this awesome book as well as oils and am excited about learning about all I can. As well as for my family.

Meal 1: 1 1/2 pieces of sausage and banana raisin almond flour bread again from Rie. It's gone now. I ate that whole thing by myself. (Good thing it was in a tiny tin.) I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. >.< But, it's gone now and out of my way. :)
Snack: I added more coconut milk to Rie's chicken curry soup. Was so nice on this cold, sort-of-snowy day!
Meal 2: Hamburger, salad, tomato, a couple of bites of raw carrot.
Meal 3: Hamburger, salad, tomato, sauteed carrots & onions in coconut oil.

After realizing that pistachios aren't good for me, I muscle tested for almonds and got a weak response. Ha, I guess my snacking on yumminess is over. :( I'm not even supposed to be snacking ;) but I've come a LONG way. It's amazing what even 5 days did for me.

{book}

I bought "The Emotion Code" by Dr. Bradley Nelson and it arrived today. Totally awesome book--I'd highly recommend it. (And I am not an avid reader, so I don't know if you'd agree. The only books I am able to read and stay focused through are religious and self-help books.) Maybe now I can clear out some trapped emotions to get me some motivation and make me different foods. >.<

amazon.com

Day 22: Upset Stomach

Why must I stray from what's good for me!? I snacked on pistachios throughout the day and my stomach was killing me ALL day! At first I thought it was my friend's bread that I had with breakfast, but realized that the pain in my stomach was hours after I ate that. I had been snacking on pistachios and didn't catch on until DINNERTIME that it was no bueno for me.

Meal 1: I had a bite of pear, bread from friend, and pistachios. Where are my veggies/protein when you need 'em? I'm so horrible at this! Mornings are rough.
Meal 2: Hamburger with paleo mayo and cave ketchup (I mixed them to make fry sauce! The ketchup tasted better with mayo in it), tomato, salad.
Meal 3: A sister in the ward brought chicken and potatoes. It was spicy! I could only eat the chicken (wasn't sure what exactly was in the sauce) and Jimmy only ate the potatoes. Jae tried the chicken and immediately took a drink of water and said it was too "bicy". Joey had a couple of bites of chicken and then he said he was finished. :| So, they had sandwiches.

No fotos today.. Just hung out and enjoyed destroying the living room, my bedroom, the boys room, and the kitchen. :) Tomorrow will be fun cleaning. >.< We did go out and buy Jae more "peent." He wants to paint and we've been out of paint for weeks.

Day 21: I Ate...

Hi, I am posting this late. I have to think back a whole day. I know, it's a challenge for this ol' brain. So, all you get in this post are meals and pics of my meals. Enjoy, I guess...

Meal 1: I had yummy pancakes with melted coconut oil, blueberries, crushed pecans, and sausage. Yeah, I didn't do any veggies.. >.< Jae had these as well, but with real maple syrup. He LOVES them! What a little champ. I don't like them {pumpkin pancakes} because they taste too eggy. I need to find a different recipe.

Meal 2: I am writing this the next day and can't remember what I had. I'm sure I had a salad!
Meal 3: Spicy curry meal from my friend with some fabulous banana, raisin, apple bread! I need to tone it down so it's not so spicy. But, it was delicious! I am starting to like soups more and more! I will have a lot of recipes to try in the colder days later this year.

Banana Raisin Apple Bread

Day 20: What the Veggies

I seriously need to dedicate one day to prep meals and prep veggies. I have boring meals, but I don't mind them. I just need to eat what's in my fridge! Tomorrow I will make something with my butternut squash. I had a yummy butternut squash at a bridal shower in December and that was the 1st time.

{service with a smile}

This morning was wonderful! A sister from the ward came to help me out! She took the boys for a couple of hours so I could catch up on cleaning. (She had been wanting to help for the past 2 weeks, but the kids were sick and then the school district had a snow day the next week.) It was such a great service! I was in shock the amount of Thank You cards I just put in the mailbox tonight. How blessed I am to have such an awesome ward family to look out for the sick. This sister said the boys were really good; she even lost track of time, they were having so much fun! They were a little late, but hey, I didn't mind at all. ;)

{meals}

Meal 1: Pumpkin pancakes with ghee melted on top accompanied with crushed pecans and blueberries. Oh, it was SO much better than the other day! Probably because the blueberries made it taste sweet. I didn't have that many blueberries on it, don't worry. ;) I also had 2 pieces of sausage (now I know to only have 1; I felt too full).
Meal 2: Baby spinach (spring garden salad mix), balsamic vinaigrette, tomato, and meatballs.
Snack: Pistachios
Meal 3: Hamburger and salad (same as above).

I have cookbooks; I just need to get cracking on new recipes. I've lost motivation. ADD!? Possibly. I guess I better stop cheating on my diet so I can feel some good changes! Especially in my brain, ha ha!

{symptoms}
awesomeness

Day 19: More Energy

Meal 1: Kalua Pork?
Meal 2: Pumpkin pancakes w/ coconut oil and crushed pecans, banana
Meal 3: Kalua Pork, Romaine lettuce, tomato, and spaghetti squash

I seriously can't remember what I ate. I should start writing it down. Although, I don't know if it would be relative since it's Whole30 compliant! Minus the veggies I can't believe I only have 11 more days to go! Then I can start adding in dairy, one day, and wait a couple of days to see if there are any allergies. I want to just keep going on this because I feel great the way things are!

So, the pumpkin pancakes weren't as good as I was hoping! Probably because there's no sugar in it, ha ha! I just can't stand the texture and ALL those eggs! 4 eggs and 4 egg whites!? I should have found a different recipe, but now I know not to make any recipe with too many eggs. I hate eggs!! It tasted like egg powder or something. Coconut flour isn't all that awesome, ha ha! But, it's better than flour.

That pork sure was amazing, though! Obviously.. I ate it for 2 days straight! And that spaghetti squash.. mmm! I need more! And I need to figure out how to cook it in the crockpot first and THEN slice it open!

Amber and I went to Wegman's about dinnertime. I got more sausage! Yesss! That is exactly what my panned cakes needed.

I love being off of sugar. I think that's the majority of what's making me feel so energized. Well, I could just be pulling that out of a hat, but I don't miss it. Honey has always been sweet for me, but even more so now. I can live without the sugar added into food, processed food now disgusts me, and not having dairy hasn't been too difficult for me either. It'd be nice to have cheese once in a while, but I don't get cravings for it. Amber and I were discussing the top 4 foods that we miss. Like, fast food chains.. McD's fries sure are good! But, I can totally give those up!

Anyway, I love this diet... if you want a challenge, try Whole30! (Read "It Starts With Food" first.) I never cared to read labels, but holy cow... some of the things they put in food really are just added grossness. ;)

On that note, I am past my bedtime AGAIN... goodnight!

Day 18: Good Day!

Meal 1: I believe I had Kalua Pork with some lettuce? I am stopping rice again. Makes me bloated, so I should probably add that in later. Ha--if only I would just stick to the Whole30, eh?
Meal 2: Curry chicken from the freezer that Bonnie made.
Meal 3: More Kalua Pork with Romaine lettuce and kale, tomato, balsamic vinaigrette I made (thanks to Amber's giving me the idea), and some sauteed carrots and onions in coconut oil.

Man. I love coconut oil! So good! I will eventually get to have more baked goods and this stuff is so yummy melted on top!

I took the boys outside today. Just on some playground equipment around our apartment. The first one we went to was just some steps to a slide that NEITHER boy went down. :|  Then we walked a little further to another playground and the boys went down the open slide. For some reason they don't like the tube slides.

I did laundry and should probably finish folding it and write my Thank You cards. I have pictures to post, but I don't know where I put my camera. I'll post them tomorrow!

Day 17: Kalua Pork

I had more energy today! Must have been the spiritual rejuvenation from Church! It was an amazing morning! We were running late this morning because of the whole Daylight Saving Time thing. Anyway, our church building is 20-22 minutes away and we got EVERY green light on the way there! It was awesome and that hasn't happened before today! It was fun! Jimmy kept saying we just hit Combo 6 and wondered if we'd make the 7th combo. Gamers... Weird. Church was awesome; it was Jae's first time singing with the Primary in Sacrament Meeting. He was so cute! May or may not have picked his nose a bit...

Meal 1: 1/4 banana, maybe some nuts? We were in a hurry to get to Church. And then I snacked on mac nuts and almonds during Sunday School. :|
Meal 2: Rice and chicken and then I went to sleep and cleaned.. didn't eat much. Was saving up for dinner, I guess. Wow, I really stink at this "whole meal" thing.
Meal 3: Kalua Pork! Oh, yummy! I did have rice.. and sauteed carrots in coconut oil. And green beans that Jimmy made that were sauteed with garlic in ghee.

Jae has been doing so awesome with potty training lately. Yeah, I have kept quiet about it because he was being either lazy or stubborn about it. But, with the emotion code, there was a stubborn emotion that was able to be released from me, Jae, and one other person. I truly believe it helped Jae complete his potty training. He hasn't had a single accident since March 6! You can call it a coincidence, but it seriously has to be the emotion code that Suzie did. I've been reading "The Emotion Code" for hours on end. It's SO awesome! But then, it wouldn't go past page 1277. Something was malfunctioned on the formatting of the eBook, so hopefully in 2 weeks I get a refund or a new eBook that works. The book really isn't over 1,000 pages, BTW. The formatting is just screwed up and takes 3 pages turns to complete one page turn.

Anyway, very awesome read if you are interested in reading up on it. Trapped emotions can cause our pains and troubles. Troubles..IDK if that's the word. Mabes.

Day 16: Not Much Energy

Meal 1: Sausage, sauteed veggies in coconut oil, and a piece of Paleo bread. (Which I have now discovered that almond flour doesn't do my body good, so I will try almond flour at a later time.)
Meal 2: I can't even remember what I had for lunch..
Meal 3: Turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash. Unfortunately I didn't have time to make any tomato sauce for it. Gross, I know.

I was very tired today, my guess is some thyroid issues. Who knows? :) But, I was able to get a good night's rest!

We went to the park today and the boys had fun! The weather was beautiful! Jimmy played tag with Jimmy and then I had zero energy to play tag with Jae when he asked me to. I walked, but somehow that was just enough for Jae. :)

This pic won't flip, but I really love Joey's shoes! They used to be Jae's and I think they're the cutest things:

Day 15: Halfway There!

I can't believe it's already been 15 days! I've been cutting corners a little bit, but I feel like I'm always in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up the mess and then back to cooking again. I guess this is what it feels like to be a normal housewife, ha ha!

Meal 1: A piece of pork sausage and a handful of almonds. Was really tired this morning as Jimmy went to York and the boys woke early.
Meal 2: Roast beast, riced cauliflower, and half an orange. (I know, I know! Where are the veggies?)
Meal 3: Turkey/beef meatballs on spaghetti squash. Yeah, that was all. FAIL! But, it was healthy. I realized I didn't have enough time or energy (or ingredients) to make the tomato sauce for it. :( Jimmy ate 3 meatballs and Joey had nothing. They'll soon learn to eat what's served LOL. Jimmy had a big, fatty lunch in York anyway.

I made paleo bread today. I felt like I needed something else. >.<  I'm horrible, I know. But, I'm going to continue eating this healthy lifestyle (which includes NO SUGAR) for a while. I love it and I love trying these new, healthy recipes.

The best part about paleo bread is that I can't screw it up! No "knead" to let it raise. Bahaha! Freals.. Just mix up the ingreds, put it in the pan, put it in the oven and voila:

 I guess I should stop trying to cut open a spaghetti squash. I bruised my finger in the process and here's what it ended up looking like lol:

Most of the day I have been reading "The Emotion Code" by Dr. Bradley Nelson. It is a good read and I love learning about energy and trapped emtions. I would highly recommend it--I am excited to learn how to free up my trapped emotions as well as for my family. Trapped emotions can cause most of our ailments--physical or mental--and it's awesome that we are able to release them from wherever they are trapped and feel lighter.

http://www.theemotioncode.com/

Day 14: Tired

My meals haven't been "on schedule" today as we were out and about. We spent the day at Gettysburg (Gbg) and went to the Outlets. I fell asleep on the drive home, though!

Meal 1: Soup from Rie! Mexican/Thai creation. So yummy! And some rice. >.<

Meal 2: Hamburger and.. rice again. Eep! (Don't worry, it's almost gone. I just need to make some mashed cauliflower or riced cauliflower and keep it in the fridge for a nice "base".) And, some orange!

Meal 3: Hamburger (it had to be eaten today; failed to put it in the freezer). Sauteed peppers and onions in coconut oil. Romaine lettuce and kale. Avocado dip.

{Gbg}

We drove on South Confederate Avenue, which includes Little Round Top and Big Round Top. It was cold and I wanted to go back in the car. Joey loved it! He hated getting back in his carseat when it was time for the next stop. Here are just some pictures of Gbg:

Commemorates Alabama's 16 infantry regiments, 1 infantry battalion, and two batteries who took part in the battle. 1933. Confederate lines facing Cemetery Ridge.

This tower is to commemorate the regiment designed to be Ellsworth's Avenger's. 1893.

Commemorates the Union state. 1910. Cemetery Ridge.

Jae and hand dryer. 2013. Bathroom at Gbg Outlet Mall.

{i need sleep}

I seriously need to stop blogging every night if I want to get more sleep! Arrrgh!  But, I had an eventful evening with a friend who could help me understand more about listening to our bodies; how to know what your body needs; how to help my kids with reactions to certain foods, etc. Thank you for taking the time to educate me and to help me gain the desire to learn! xoxo

{symptoms}

tired

energy!

Day 13: Energy Work

Meal 1: 1 1/2 Sausage links and an apple & raisin muffin.
Meal 2: Hamburger with avocado dressing on the side, salad, tomatoes, and riced cauliflower.
Meal 3: Pot roast and... RICE.  I won't even begin to tell you how awful (mood-wise) my day was. At least I muscle tested before I gobbled it all up! ;) My friend had white/wheat rice with our meal yesterday and I was dying to have some. Today was horrible and that was the perfect treat!

As for my symptoms today, I'm feeling very tired. I did a lot of things today--mostly was in the kitchen doing dishes, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, cooking more, and doing more dishes. I was super irritated and just wanted to eat to make me feel better. I did snack a lot and that rice was so good. LOL! I hope to get back on track tomorrow.

How a Joey eats an apple:

Jae's wunch consisted of sauteed carrots in coconut oil, 3 strawberries, 1/4 cup of riced cauliflower, and 5 bites of my hamburger.

My Meal 2 was pretty tasty. I couldn't really tell you if the riced cauliflower was good or bad. Tasted just like my carrots LOL! There's my avocado sauce I made today! Unfortunately it is too garlicy and I will have to add more avocado when they get ripe.

The yummy almond flour apple & raisin muffin from Rie. It was SO tasty! And really, really sweet! Definitely the raisins!

 Jae wanted spaghetti for dinner. So, I sauteed some peppers in coconut oil, cut some tomatoes, and put some noodles on his plate. I'm happy to report that he ate all of it minus 3 peppers.

Joey, Joey, Joey. He ended up throwing his plate on the floor. He only ate a few noodles. I'm sure Jimmy fed him later. I don't know; it was one of those days where I didn't want to deal with any of the boys, spouse included.

{energy work}

I just finished another energy healing, but not with the same girl as last time. It really is amazing the different kinds of energy work there are.

Check out www.bodynsoul.us and get a session with Suzie!
Melinda is who I did my first one with and you can contact her at 2 0 8 seven 1 6 zero 4 4 one.

Both of these are done over the phone. So awesome! I contacted Suzie about my brain fog, lack of concentration, and disorganization. There were a LOT of emotions foggin' up my brain. I'll write in a couple of days how things are going; but during the session, I totally felt the fog lifting. You may think I'm making it up (placebo effect), but it is so awesome to feel lighter just during the call! She also removed the emotional blockage to let my thyroid align correctly. :)

Suzie specializes in maternal health and fitness, infertility, nutritional needs, fitness, hormonal imbalances, back pain, and mental disorders.

Call her or Melinda and get a session for whatever ailments you are having!  It is the coolest thing!

Day 12: Another Amazing Day

I can't believe how {awesome} I have been feeling today! My arms were weak today, but at least they weren't tingling! Nothing bothering my legs (until later today from using the Heel-Toe Express), I had a slight headache, but I think that was from sleeping with my hair in a ponytail and the hair elastic was hurting my neck. I hopped out of bed at 7 (not really; still takes me a minute to actually work my way out of bed) and cooked up breakfast for everyone. I'm awesome, I know. I was doing dishes, getting Joey dressed, I read 20+ books to Jae that we got from the library, and by 10am I had it. Naptime was totally needed.

After a nap I had Jimmy make the boys lunch since I did breakfast. :)  I made my own lunch, though. I should write down what I have in order to blog it. >.<

Meal 1: Steak, salad something or other?
Meal 2: Hamburger and some salad and whatever?
Meal 3: I had a soup that was made by a sweet Sister and friend in my ward. She even made a dessert-like muffin for me! I'm saving those for breakfast tomorrow! It had raisins and dried apples in it and it was SO, so sweet! It tasted awesome, though! She made some rice and brown rice for the boys; so thoughtful! I wish I could eat that. It's the #1 food on my list to add back in. March 23, but who's keeping track? ;) I also made me a salad and some green beans sauteed with ghee and garlic. Yeah, I decided to put tomatoes and ghee back into my diet. I figured it wouldn't hurt since I've been feeling so {fabuloso}!

Some of you wanted the paleo mayonnaise recipe I had talked about on FB. I also heard of this blogger from Whole9's website: nomnompaleo.com. (I'm going to try this when I get some cauliflower. Or, maybe I still have some. IDK, ever since this diet my fridge has been stuffed full of fruits and veggies. Not a bad thing, right?) Anyway, the nomnompaleo chica has a bunch of different recipes and different twists to do to mayo to zest it up.

With this recipe, you can make ranch and an avocado dressing. I'm excited to make those tomorrow!

{mayonnaise--paleo style}

1 large egg
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup + 1 cup light-tasting olive oil

Put the egg and lemon yuice into a blender or food processor and let it sit for 30 minutes to get to room temp. Add dry mustard, salt, and 1/4 c. oil and mix it. Once it's smooth, slowly add the remaining oil as it blends.

 (sorry for the lame pictures; I'm not a food photographer. Oh, I'm not a photographer in general.)

So, I just realized I used Olive Oil, not light-tasting and I forgot 1/4 cup of it in the process. Ha ha! Well, it tastes great to say the least! I'm pretty dang proud of myself. I used a Magic Bullet, so I couldn't slowly pour the rest of the oil in. I had to stop it, pour 1/4 cup in at a time and mix. But, it actually tastes pretty good!

{family outing}

We got a check from our electric company for a refund for conserving energy last month. A whole $2.08. Don't spend it all in one place!

  Jimmy's first though was to buy a pizza slice at Costco (which he did). Yeah, he's not quite on this diet, but like I said... we're getting there. He says he can't stand the almond flour, but he'll get used to it. :)  I told him that if he grew up on almond flour he may think regular flour was gross. >.<

We drove out to Boiling Springs. We've never been there before and Jimmy has been itching to take us there and check it out. It was FREEZING so I didn't last very long. The water boils. Something, sulfur, something. Jimmy was explaining it to me; obviously I listen real well.

Children's Lake, PA

 Jimmy was excited to see a swan:

 Jae requested going to a park. So, we did.

Me, feelin' awesome:

We showed Amber and Chad around Costco and got some groceries for ourselves. They boys didn't want to sit in the cart anymore, so they helped push it:

We finally got home and I was able to eat some yummy soup as mentioned previously:

A good day had by all! It's already late and I need to get to bed. I hope I can continue to have this energy I have and to feel good. Right now I still get tired mid-morning and afternoon. I fell asleep in the car on the way to Costco. It's a 25 minute drive. >.<

Tomorrow is a snow day (5-8 inches), so I think I will be making some Thank You cards with my boys! Thank you all for your support!

Jimmy would totally think I'm awesome for posting this. Ha ha! We watch an anime called "Fairy Tail" and it can get really cheesy. Lines about strength coming from friends. But, I found this one:

"Weaklings will stay weak forever. But weakness is not evil, since human beings are weak creatures to begin with. Alone, you feel nothing but insecurity; that's why we form guilds, that's why we have friends. We walk together in order to live a strong life. The clumsy ones will walk into more walls than the others, and it may also take them longer to get there. If you believe in tomorrow and put yourself out there, you can naturally obtain your strength. That's how you will be able to smile and live strong."

Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail

Day 11: Rejuvination

Meal 1: Pork chop, steamed broccoli, some carrot, and Romaine lettuce.
Meal 2: Shredded chicken with sauteed onions and mushrooms. (I know, I'm boring, but I still haven't planned out my meals. Still got ADD in my head!) (I got a wicked stomach ache; first one since I started this diet. I don't think the onions were cooked enough. Or maybe it WAS the onions.)
Meal 3: Steak, salted and steamed asparagus, sauteed onions (yes, in ghee. I was feeling good today, so I figured I'd go for it), Romaine lettuce with kale, and a piece of nectarine. (I realized I wasn't able to eat the chili that a sister's daughter made for my family and I. Bummer! It looked and smelled SO good!)

Woke with a sore throat. My guess is it's from the Raindrop Technique. Put some lemon oil on my throat to get rid of it. Slept 7 hours last night; what a miracle!

Jimmy's not doing so hot with the diet and neither are the boys. It may be longer until they are 100% on it, but for now I will just focus on myself because I'm greedy like that. They still eat healthy most of the time, though--don't worry!

Today's temptation: A tomato.

{rejuvenation}

I feel so rejuvenated today!

Web definitions the phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored; "the annual rejuvenation of the landscape". wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I know Heavenly Father is doing what he can to help me get better. He has sent me to an awesome family and through that family I was led to a new way of healing. You can read here about it (this is the mentor of a distant relative. Not so distant with FB! Thank you!). So, with everything I have been given, the prayers, the fasting, all the raw materials I need to get healthy, I am excited to have had an awesome day today! We went to the library, returned a cookie sheet, went to Wegman's, and I did the dishes and cooked meals and tidied up without any tingling/weak/heavy limbs after that phone call. I'm tired now and hope that's a good sign so that I can go to sleep! I got 7 hours last night, which was awesome for me, but I gotta keep it up and get more zzz's.

I hope to have more good days than bad days from here on out. I think the mornings might be rough still, but I will put some positive thinking into all I do. Thank you all for thinking of me! The FB messages, the texts, the prayers.. thank you all for your well wishes!

Now, let's hope I didn't jinx myself being so positive. Ha ha!

Day 10: Fast Sunday

Meal 1 and Meal 2 were skipped due to Fast Sunday.
Meal 3 was brought to us by the Bishop's family. Roasted chicken, salad with mandarin oranges with a vinaigrette, and tomatoes. (Yeah, I'll start the no-nightshades tomorrow.) It was delicious and I was starving!

I am happy that we were able to attend Church today. My legs didn't bother me much at all, but my arms sure did. Bummer. I was so tired and so tempted to go home, but the boys hadn't been to their classes due to traveling and sickness, so we stayed. I'm glad I did! I got to hold baby Mia who is 3 months old. I couldn't believe how tired my arms were getting, though. :( So lame. This is another reason I'm taking a few more things out of the diet. If I can't even hold a baby for 15 minutes, I need to do what I can to make sure I get better and healthy enough to be a Mom x5! (JK, IDK how many kids we're having.) I truly believe I can get better if i stick to this diet, rely on the Lord and His Priesthood, pray, get adequate rest, and continue with the Raindrop Treatments. It sounds like a lot and a lot of work, but... "with [those] powers combined.." I WILL get better. I'm not concerned about flare-ups or anything, maybe those will go away if I continue my diet. I know there are family and friends praying for me and I will do all I can to help my body heal. Thanks, everyone! I realize that I will get better on the Lord's time. I asked if the Bishop would give me a blessing and he did. I don't remember all of what he said, (was trying to focus, but Jimmy left his computer game on and the music was going, Jae was running around like a banshee, and Joey was probably being cute) but I do know that I will be exercising my faith through this period in my life. Looks like I'll be studying more about faith. :)

29 Gifts has been on my mind; I just feel sooo fogged up that I can't find the time anymore to get going again. I will pick up on it again soon; I just don't know when.

I just had a Raindrop and am feeling so relaxed. I wish it were easy to fall asleep. Soon I will get some oils that will help me with that process.

Goodnight, family.
Goodnight, friends.

Revisions in Whole30

I am suddenly remembering why I didn't think tomatoes were OK. I looked in my book and read about the thyroid. I don't know if I have Hashimoto's Disease or hypothyroidism.. whatever it is, I have low thyroid levels; but it is an autoimmune disease and I am wanting to get better, like last year, so I am revising my diet and making it even more strict. In Whole30, they call it the AIP: Autoimmune Protocol. This will include eliminating these foods from my diet:

• Eggs--whole eggs and white eggs. Which, is not a problem at all for me. I loathe eggs; and I don't even do baked goods. (Ok, those almond pancakes were for a couple of days, but I'm done w/ "straying" from the diet.)
• Nightshades--ah, what are those things? "Nightshades are a group of plants that contain compounds that promote gut irritability, inflammation, and joint pain or/and stiffness in sensitivie individuals." (ISWF, 237)  They recommend you avoid nightshades for at least 90 days to evaluate sensitivity.
• white potatoes
• tomatoes
• sweet and hot peppers
• eggplant
• tomatillos
• tamarios
• pepinos
• spices like cayenne, chili powder, curry powder, paprika, pepper sauce, pimento, crushed red pepper flakes
• Dairy--including heavy cream, clarified butter, and ghee--oh, gee! Not my ghee! I loved my ghee! Dairy should be avoided indefinitely.
• Nuts and seeds--ah, nuts! My macadamia nuts and almonds! My boys love snacking on these, so I will have to not be tempted to eat them.
• NSAIDs--Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and Celebrex. These disrupt the lining of the gut, "leading to intestinal permeability, a contributing factor in autoimmune disase." (ISWF, 237) Tylenol would be the better choice, but I'm using oils so I don't think this will be an issue for me.

And, I need to buy a metal water bottle to drink and sip my water from. The formula I am using for how much water I should drink goes as follows:

{Body weight / 2 = Ounces of Water}

I know I need more sleep than I get at night. I wonder how this sleep test will go. It's not for another couple of weeks, but it will be interesting to see if they find anything. In the meantime, I'm going to find the right oil or oil blends for me to help me get to sleep. I go to bed between 10:30pm-11pm, but I'm not asleep until at least 1am. 

Day 9: Carrot Cake

So, I missed that part on how to plate the meals correctly. Ha ha! Glad I have Amber to keep me on track. Put the protein on the plate, fill the rest with veggies. In my defense, I didn't have my book handy. ;) I forget easily, but I guess the worse thing was not eating enough veggies.

Meal 1: Sausage link, almond/coconut flour biscuits (they. were. nasty.)
Meal 2: Hamburger (lol) with Romaine lettuce, kale, & tomatoes.
Meal 3: Chicken curry kabobs (red & green peppers and onions) with nectarines and kiwis.

I am completely exhausted again. Mornings are very, very difficult for me. I have noticed a pattern the past couple of days when I wake and do the b-fast thang I am ready for a nap after that. I'm sluggish, sore, and tired until about early afternoon; after I've had lunch.

I baked a gluten-free/almond flour carrot cake for Jae, but then I decided not to make coconut cream frosting and sent Jimmy to the store to get heavy whipping cream for a paleo cream cheese frosting. Recipe for the carrot cake and cream cheese frosting is here, if you're interested. They really aren't kidding when they say, "carrot" cake! I had to have Jimmy grate all the carrots for me. (My arms have been starting to be really weak lately and I managed to grate half of one before giving up.)

imagae from elanaspantry.com

We don't have round cake pans, so I made a 9" square cake and a bunch of muffins. I didn't even have a bite; is that control or what?! Heh, it's all good, if I were to cheat, I'd cheat on a bite of sticky rice. I know, I'm rad.

Amber stopped by to pick up and drop off some food. We were saying, "I have this you can have." "I have that you can have" when we were going grocery shopping. So, we just shared some food to save money and time.

Then I cut up some nectarines and kiwis to take to our friend's house for dinner. And we brought the carrot cake, too! They were so thoughtful to make a meal that I could eat! It was delicious! Chicken curry kabobs! I ate all but 2 of Jimmy's peppers lol. It was the tastiest kabob I think I've ever had! The kids played and we got to visit and get to know them a bit better. Wonderful, wonderful family! Thank you!

I got home and was feeling alive and so full of energy that I... put Joey to bed, did the dishes, was going to put Jae to bed after I finished the dishes, but he fell asleep on my bed after playing on the LeapPad2, I cooked Jimmy some dinner (since he only had a couple of chicken pieces), cleaned Jimmy's closet out, and started to clean my side of the bed, and watched an episode of "Robotics;Notes" with Jimmy. Guys, that's like.. amazing. :)  I crashed after that for about an hour and forced myself to write this post and my 29 Gift post.

Hope you all had a fabulous Saturday!

Day 8: Support for Whole30

I am thrilled that I now have a friend doing Whole30 with me! It's been so awesome to eat healthy {expensive} food! Amber and I just went grocery shopping at Wegman's and Walmart in Mbg. Basically I'm going to fall asleep while I type this. I need to stop abusing my body and let it rest! I was walking so slow in the stores, but picked up the pace when Amber was haulin' lol. She probably wanted to get home, too! Neither of us had eaten dinner. My legs are aching and my arms are starting to hurt and I am beyond tired. It was fun, though, actually going out to find these random things for this diet. I'm glad we were able to go together because I don't know if I'd ever end up finding good foods to switch things up. She was getting sausage and peppers and tomatoes... (I thought we couldn't have the latter two lol.) I would text Bonnie and ask her where this and that were located. She was totally awesome! Pretty sure I called her 5x and texted her just as much. Thank you, Bonnie! So, so awesome of you to help us n00bs out! I'm so proud of Amber for doing this diet because she wants to. It will be great to have a little support system and do meals together! We were a little disappointed to find NO bacon we could eat! They all had sugar in them! (Let me remind you that Whole30 is stricter than Paleo.)

{meals}

Meal 1: Leftover pork loin (I finally bought coconut flour to make some coconut tortillas; at least some form of bread-like substance I can have with my meals! I saw a recipe in a cookbook Bonnie let me borrow and then my friend was looking for coconut wraps, but the store didn't sell them.)
Meal 2: I don't even think I ate! I had a late lunch. Maybe some mac nuts and almonds. Oops! You have to understand that mornings are really tough to get up and make breakfast. I'm hoping with these new ingredients I can make some awesome "muppins" to eat with some broth and sausage!!
Meal 3: Another hamburger! I love this organic, grass-fed beef! I would eat a hamburger for every meal if I could! I didn't have it like a hamburger, though.. just put it over lettuce w/ tomato, with sauteed onions & mushrooms (cooked with ghee! oh my yummy; I will be sooooo embarrassed if that jar is gone before I'm done with the 30 days!), with a side of nectarine! I had a picture, but I realize all my food photos don't look the least bit appetizing. I think sea salt adds TONS of flavor to it and that ghee is heavenly LOL!

{oot and aboot}

I am exhausted! For my 29 Gifts, I made this cute card (with my Silhouette Cameo..that took forevs), then ran out to the store to grab a treat, and then to drop it off. Then I got home and wanted to nap, but knew I was going to be going out again shortly.

It was an exhausting time at Wegman's and Walmart. I am trying so hard to keep my eyes opened as I type this. I got home, put groceries away, made my yummy dinner, and relaxed in bed. I really hope I can fall asleep early tonight! It's already almost 10 and I am SO ready to sleep. Last night I tried going to bed at 10:30; ended up being 10:45, then 11:30, then midnight, then before you know it, it's 1am and I'm finally out. Anyway, after I much exhausting day (why, why do I do this to myself??), I came into the kitchen and found this:

What!? Flowers for ME!? Oh, it was so, so sweet to come home to this surprise! I asked Jimmy (skeptical, of course) if he got those for me and he told me who they were really from LOL! Beautiful, and THANK YOU! I'm so bummed I wasn't home for it and to greet who gave these to me, but I love them!

It is Spring Break for Jimmy, so I'm glad he will get to help me out more around here. Hopefully we can venture out and do something fun. Maybe Gettysburg. I need to find a wheelchair. I can't even handle grocery shopping. Mostly I want to do some Spring Cleaning. I am so tired of this mess. We need to bag up toys to sell at the Consignment Shop next month and hide them so the kids don't make messes with them. Wait, I'm rambling. I'm totally going to bed now! Mmm, after I write about Gift 3.